Biochemical markers - General labs and Cytokines sample At baseline, 3 and 6 months, a fasting blood sample is taken for measurement of plasma laboratory tests (AST, ALT, total bilirubin, albumin, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, insulin, C-reactive protein, platelet), serum -1 leptin and MCP will be quantified. To determine levels of serum leptin and MCP-1, 15 mL venous blood samples were taken from the antecubital vein, and transferred to tubes without anticoagulant (4 mL). Blood samples were collected between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., at baseline (PRE), after 3 months and after 6 months. Tubes without anticoagulant were centrifuged at 1048g for 10 min. Serum samples were then divided into several aliquots and stored at -20 °C for further analysis. Serum leptin and MCP-1 levels were determined using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method, using the specific kit (Peprotech, EUA) following the manufacturer's instructions. All samples were measured in duplicate by microplate reader SpectraMax M2e (Molecular Devices, EUA). Intra-assay coefficients of variation were always <5.0%, 3.8% for BDNF and cortisol, respectively.